Kind of Busy Now
by Mandolin
Summary: XOVER Lisa never gets involved in the Tomorrow People's adventures... mainly because she has enough to deal with in her apartment complex.


TITLE: Kind of Busy Now  
AUTHOR: Mandi Ohlin  
CATEGORY: Crossover, Humor, General Insanity  
RATING: PG (language)  
PART: 1/1  
FANDOM: New Series Tomorrow People/other (saving it for the Author's Note)  
DISCLAIMER: After the story to avoid spoilers.  
SUMMARY: Lisa never gets involved in the Tomorrow People's adventures... mainly because she has enough to deal with in her apartment complex.   
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm gonna get smacked for this, I know it. This was inspired in part by Anne's "Where the Winds Blow" (a far superior story) and a whacked-out conversation on New Year's Eve about evil bunny rabbits. It was written in one sitting on New Year's Day, I had to get it out of my system and it's *not* to be taken seriously. I'm not telling what this is a crossover with til after the story. Timelines are purposely skewed. Telepathy is indicated by [].   
  
And no, Michele: I am *not* on drugs. :)  
  
  
Kind of Busy Now  
by Mandi Ohlin  
  
  
September 1997  
  
[Lisa? Lisa, you there?]  
  
[Uh, I'm kind of in the middle of something. What's up?]  
  
Megabyte did not have the greatest store of patience, so he wasn't exactly thrilled at how long it took Lisa to respond. He wished that Adam had thought to contact her, but the Australian was a bit distracted. Besides, as annoying as Lisa could be, she deserved to know what was going on. [It's Kev. He's in the hospital.]  
  
[WHAT?] Her mental shout nearly bowled him over. [What happened? Is he--]   
  
The telepathy cut off there, punctuated by a feeling that Megabyte could only term as the "oh-shit" feeling. [Lisa? You okay? Lisa?]  
  
[I'm fine. Someone hit an... animal on Route 80.] Obvious lie there. [What happened to Kevin?]  
  
[He's in a coma. There's something weird going on here, Lis. We might need your help.]  
  
[Yeah, sure, I'll - WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?] She was broadcasting what she was shouting. [A case of beer? All that for a case of beer?]  
  
[Are you sure you're okay?]  
  
[No, no, I'm not.] Another pause. [Um, look, I'll come to the Ship when things get... quiet... here.] She sighed mentally. [That "no killing" rule - you're sure there aren't any exceptions?]  
  
[Take my word for it.]  
  
[Damn.]  
  
* * * * *  
  
October 1997  
  
"Where were you?" Kevin asked as Lisa appeared in the bowels of the ship. "We were starting to..." He stopped, staring at her. "...worry."  
  
Lisa scowled. Her T-shirt and jeans were torn and looked as though they were singed in a few places. Her hair was a mess, and there were leaves and twigs sticking out of it. There was dirt all over her clothes, and what looked like a three-toed footprint on the front of her shirt. "I *don't* want to talk about it."  
  
* * * * *  
  
January 1998  
  
After five rings, Lisa finally answered her cellphone. "Hello?"   
  
"Lisa? I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours!"   
  
"Adam?" She had to shout over the crashing sounds in the background. "Uh, I'm sorry, I'm kind of busy now!"  
  
"This is important!"  
  
"I know, but--" There was a tremendous boom and Lisa yelped. A second later, Adam heard the distinct thud of a cellphone hitting the floor.   
  
The crashing sounds abated slightly, and Adam could hear a female voice - not Lisa's - shouting over the racket. "All right, I'll tell you! I'm trapped in a room where an alien and a rabbit with high explosives are trying to kill each other!" As Adam blinked, wondering if he'd heard that properly, the voice added, "NO REHAB, Mom! I am NOT on drugs!"  
  
Lisa grabbed the phone again. "Adam? You still there?"  
  
"Was there someone shouting about an alien? And a rabbit with high explosives?"   
  
There was a pause. A long, awkward pause, punctuated by static, crashing and shouting. "Lisa?"  
  
"She's on drugs," Lisa answered abruptly, and there was a screech of indignation. "Um, I'll call you back!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
April 1998  
  
"I can't believe she carded me," Kevin muttered as he the three other Tomorrow People sat in a booth in Crystal's Bar. The owner, a friend of Lisa's, had just taken their orders and embarrassed Kevin.  
  
"Well, you are underage," Lisa pointed out.  
  
"She treated me like I was twelve!"  
  
Megabyte snorted. "Not her fault you're so short, squirt."  
  
"Didn't she ask for your ID, too?" Adam asked.   
  
"Shut up." Megabyte scowled and changed the subject. "So where's your apartment?"  
  
"Four blocks up the street from here," Lisa replied, smiling. It was good to see the guys again. Maybe she'd be lucky and nothing would be blown up, broken or summoned from alternate dimensions courtesy of the guys in her apartment building. "It's about ten minutes from school."  
  
"And you only pay three hundred dollars a month?" Kevin asked. "I don't know, but that sounds cheap for such a nice place."  
  
Lisa sighed. "Actually--" She paused as a rumbling sound could be heard in the distance. "Did you guys hear that?"  
  
Megabyte, whose attention had wandered to the baseball game on TV, stood up. "Hey, guys, check it out."  
  
The game had been interrupted by a news bulletin. "Late breaking news! A robot has left a small town in ruins! Among the ruins, a pet food shop, where only a few bags of alfalfa hay were stolen, a Spencer's gift shop, where only a Baywatch poster was stolen, and a telemarketer office. There were no survivors at the telemarketer office."  
  
As the report continued, two guys got up from the bar. Lisa followed them out, with the rest of the group trailing behind her. "Hey!" she shouted at the pair getting into the pickup truck. "Should I be worried?"  
  
"No more than usual," was the response as the pickup truck pulled away from the curb and sped down the street.   
  
The four Tomorrow People stood there, staring at the city skyline and at the big shadow moving in the distance. "Could I stay at someone's place tonight?" Lisa asked tiredly.  
  
It was faint, but Adam could definitely hear a voice coming from the direction of the destruction. A tiny, high-pitched voice of someone who had either OD'd on caffeine or was perpetually hyper.   
  
"Ooooh! What does THIS button do?"  
  
Something crunched, and all the power for three blocks went out.  
  
Lisa flinched. "Please?"   
  
* * * * *  
  
March 1999  
  
"One thing I love about being here," Ami sighed as she stretched out on the warm sand. "The quiet."  
  
Adam smiled. "Your mother again?"  
  
"Isn't it always?"  
  
His answering comment was cut off by a sudden wave of panic, fear, and terror... which was followed by a scream and a splash. "So much for quiet," Megabyte muttered as they scrambled to their feet to help the person staggering out of the water. When he saw just who was stumbling towards them - and what she was wearing - he fell back down on the sand, howling with laughter.  
  
Moving as best as one could while wearing a sopping grey-and-white bunny suit, Lisa scowled at him. "Quit laughing and help me out of this damn thing!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
January 2000  
  
[Hey, guys?]   
  
[Lisa! You're awake!]  
  
[Are you okay? The "Y2K coma" thing's been all over the news!]  
  
[They said some guy kidnapped a bunch of you from the hospital!]  
  
[You know your Mum's been ranting at the police all night?]  
  
[I'm fine,] Lisa replied groggily. [Tell Mom I'm at my apartment.]  
  
[What happened?] Adam asked once the others had calmed down. [Do you know?]  
  
Lisa sighed. [I'm not sure. Is "un-coma-dified" a word?]  
  
[I don't think so,] Megabyte answered. [Just say you don't know if you don't.]  
  
[I had it explained to me by an imbecile who tried using puppets.]   
  
Ami was completely confused. [What?]  
  
[Don't ask. Will someone let Mom know I'm okay before she kills someone? I'm going to get some food and a shower.]  
  
Megabyte yawned. [Yeah, sure. Later.]   
  
He exchanged glances with Adam and Ami. [Is it just me, or is she getting weirder?]  
  
[I heard that!]  
  
Adam grinned. "Just for that, *you* get to tell Mrs. Davis."  
  
* * * * *  
  
August 2000  
  
"Why do you read that?" Ami asked.  
  
Megabyte was sitting at the Damon kitchen table, a copy of the National Enquirer in front of him. "Just for laughs." He turned to Adam, who was staring blankly at the oatmeal in front of him. "Hey. Earth to Adam. Adam!"  
  
Adam blinked, surprised. "Sorry. I'm just thinking. Have you heard from Lisa in the past few months?"  
  
"No, but what else is new? She doesn't want anything to do with us."  
  
"Megabyte, she's just been busy. She at least checks in occasionally."  
  
"Probably just enjoying her summer." Megabyte turned the page and froze. "Uh, Adam? Take a look at this."  
  
Adam took the article from him and read it out loud: "Chupacubra photographed at a resort in the Caribbean. 'She liked Mai Tais,' said one local."   
  
"Look at the picture. Who's that in the background?"  
  
Adam and Ami stared. Behind the photo of a green dragon-like creature with a ferret on its head, two figures could be seen: a ponytailed guy with sunglasses running for his life, and a familiar girl chasing after him, holding a broken guitar over her head like a club.  
  
"This doesn't look good," Ami observed.  
  
"No kidding. She's in the Caribbean and I'm stuck in Vermont. How fair is that?" Megabyte took a bite of his bagel, blinking at the stares he was getting. "What?"  
  
* * * * *  
  
October 2000  
  
"Hey, nice party," Megabyte observed, taking in the crowded apartment.   
  
Lisa nearly dropped her soda when she saw them, eyes widening in shock. "What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"Looking for you," Adam replied.   
  
"Aren't you supposed to be wearing a costume?" Megabyte asked, indicating the witch costume Lisa was wearing.  
  
"Cute, Megabyte. Real cute."  
  
Jade was studying the dragon decoration hanging from the ceiling. "This looks so real!" She reached up to touch it, but Lisa pulled her away.  
  
"Don't! That's, ah, likely to fall at any second. Torg can't tie a knot to save his life." She started ushering them out the door. "Let's talk outside where I can hear myself think."  
  
Out on the front porch, she turned to face them. "Look, guys, it's not that I'm happy to see you, but Torg and Riff's Halloween parties *always* go nuts. How did you find me here, anyway?"  
  
"You left the invitation on the porch," Adam said, taking it out of his pocket. "What's all this about a demon coming every Halloween to take someone's soul?"  
  
"Um..." Lisa paused, biting her lip. She couldn't keep pretending the insanity around her didn't exist. Even though she wanted to keep her friends out of it - they had enough to worry about without dealing with everything that came with knowing Torg and Riff - she couldn't keep lying to them. "Okay, look, you guys aren't going to believe this, but that invitation? It's not a joke."  
  
"Sure," Megabyte said sarcastically.  
  
The sudden screams from inside cut off any more skepticism. There was a buzzing noise, a screech, and a thud, and general pandemonium erupted. Ignoring her better judgment, Lisa ran back inside, pushing through the crowd. "Five bucks on the squid-on-a-stick!" someone shouted.  
  
Lisa found Crystal in the crowd. "What's going on?" she asked just as another guy in a vampire costume came up and asked, "What'd I miss?"  
  
"Well..." Crystal took a deep breath. "The Red Ranger got the demon by the face with the hand of his robot arm, but the demon got him in the face with the squid-on-a-stick. Then the demon grabbed the human taco by the leg which started a tug-of-war with the dragon decoration that sprung to life to save him."  
  
"I knew it looked too real!" Jade exclaimed.   
  
Crystal kept going with the air of someone who was used to recapping the bizarre. "Then, as the generic super hero tried to pry the squid tentacles off Riff's face, they all collapsed on each other and collapsed in this big knot of bodies."  
  
Lisa turned to Megabyte, who was gaping in shock. "You were saying?"  
  
Ami looked nervous. "I think we'd better leave."  
  
"So who's that, then?" Adam pointed to the ceiling.   
  
Crystal sighed. "Oh, and the demon hunter's narrating things from the ceiling fan."  
  
"Wow," the guy in the vampire costume said. "I sure picked the wrong time to take a leak."  
  
"Let's go," Lisa muttered.  
  
* * * * *   
  
(Still) October 2000  
  
"What," Megabyte demanded as they hurried outside, "was that?"  
  
"That was kind of standard around here," Lisa muttered.   
  
Adam stared at her. "You're joking."  
  
Lisa sighed. "God, I wish I was. And you haven't even met Bun-bun yet."  
  
Ami was peering down the street. "If the demon's in there," she said, indicating the apartment, "then what's causing all the screaming over there?"  
  
"Hey! Out of my way!"  
  
They all looked down. "The hell?" Megabyte asked. Lisa grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the way so the two animals could pass.  
  
"What?" Lisa asked. "Never seen a talking bunny rabbit with a switchblade before?"  
  
"Not one in a Halloween costume," Jade answered.   
  
"Or one that mugs children for candy," Ami added quietly.  
  
Adam squinted at the retreating pair. "Was that a ferret?"  
  
"Whoo-hooo!" They looked up to see the guy in the taco costume being flown out the window by the dragon. "The chalupa wins again!"  
  
Megabyte shook his head. "You weren't kidding about being busy, were you?"  
  
"Yep. Why do you think my rent is so cheap?"  
  
Jade watched the dragon fly off. "Chalupa? I thought he was a taco."  
  
* * * * *  
  
December 2000  
  
"Megabyte, why are you bothering to call?" Lisa asked. "It's got to cost plenty from Vermont!"  
  
Megabyte grumbled. "Dad's orders. Wants to monitor my calls. I'm supposed to be grounded."  
  
"How long did it take you to violate that?"  
  
"Three hours. Now I'm grounded til Christmas. Like that'll work. Why do you have me on speaker phone?"  
  
"I'm trying to clean some things up, and I know you put me on the speaker too."  
  
"Dad's orders. Not my fault I have no privacy."  
  
Adam spoke up. "Lisa, we were wondering if you'd stop by today."   
  
"Well, I might be able to--" There was a muffled boom. "Oh, dear."  
  
"Bun-bun, don't just throw stuff around helter-skelter when you're looking for something!"  
  
"You're one to talk."  
  
"I'M NOT THROWING AROUND HIGH EXPLOSIVES!"  
  
Lisa let out a deep sigh, and Megabyte started laughing. Adam punched him in the shoulder. "Let me guess. Busy?"  
  
"For the time being. I'll pop in when I'm done with damage control."  
  
"All right. Merry Christmas, Lisa."  
  
"Merry Christmas, guys." She hung up.  
  
Megabyte was lying on the floor, still chuckling. Adam nudged him with his foot. "Get up. It's not that funny."  
  
"No, I just had an idea." Megabyte sat up. "I've been trying to figure out what to get Lisa for Christmas."  
  
"No explosives, Megabyte."  
  
"Not that." Megabyte's grin was nothing short of malicious. "I'm thinking Lisa could use a pet bunny."  
  
* * * * *   
  
~fin~  
  
DISCLAIMER: "The Tomorrow People" and all related indicia belongs to Roger Damon Price, Thames, Tetra, and someone else. The online comic "Sluggy Freelance" and all related indicia is the brainchild of Pete Abrams and can be found at http://www.sluggy.com for those interested. Most of the incidents here were taken from the comic. No permission, no profit, no lawyers.   
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE PART 2: For those who care, the Sluggy stories alluded to here are "Demon Summoning Week," "The Bikini-Suicide-Frisbee Match," "Aylee vs. Bun-bun," "Robot Rampage," "Mecha Easter Bunny," "Kiki's Virus," "On the Run: The Caribbean," "The Hunt," and "Spitting Image." And yes, I have lost my mind. But the comic is proof that Anya was right all along: bunnies are evil. (At least talking mini-lop bunnies with switchblades.)   
  
Running for the hills,  
Mandi 


End file.
